Data storage and security is not an uphill task anymore with the best free and open-source NAS software solutions listed in this article. 

Companies need readily available and reliable data for various purposes. Non-availability of required data leads to dissatisfactory customer service and missed opportunities for the business. However, data storage continues to be a challenge for many companies unless they use the best NAS software for data storage, organization, and retrieval.

For those unfamiliar with Network Attached Storage or NAS solutions, these programs help with seamless on-premise data storage. Moreover, NAS software provides networks with a common access point for storage drives. Furthermore, cost and space-saving, enhanced scale-out capacity, elimination of performance bottlenecks, simple operation, support for multiple applications, effortless setup and management, and advanced fault tolerance are some other core benefits of these software solutions.

However, finding decent open-source NAS software is another challenge, since not every program available on the web is worth your valuable time. Hence, we have put together a list of the best free software programs after deep research and consideration of various factors, such as versioning and encryption capabilities, interface, hardware, storage space, customer support, security, speed, file management, and a lot more. Let us walk you through this list in the coming section of this article.

Well-researched list of the Best NAS Software (Free and Open-Source)

Below is a rundown of the best free NAS software to cater to your data storage, organization, and migration needs.

1. Rockstor

Let us bring your attention to Rockstor. It is among the best free open-source NAS software for a variety of reasons, such as its user-friendly interface, bitrot protection, asynchronous replication, compression, online volume management, and CoW Snapshots. Moreover, integration with OpenVPN, ownCloud, Plex, Syncthing, and the following features contribute to bringing Rockstor to the spotlight.

Key features of Rockstor

• This software doubles up as a cloud storage and a NAS device
• You can use Rockstor to create custom solutions for software or hardware projects
• It offers pool redundancy profiles and share capacities
• Rockstor is well-known for its regular updates, active community, and substantial documentation

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2. Openfiler

You can choose Openfiler if you prioritize volume growth support. In addition to volume growth support, excellent block storage virtualization, quota/resource allocation, snapshotting, and the following features make Openfiler one of the best NAS software you can use for free.

Key features of Openfiler

• It supports a wide range of protocols for file sharing, such as NFS and SMB/CIFS
• Openfiler boasts account management via LDAP, Active Directory, NT4 domain controller, or NIS
• This software supports MPIO and high-availability clustering
• You can use Openfiler to perform disk-to-disk backup

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3. Amahi

If you are a beginner, you cannot go wrong with Amahi. It is known as the best open-source NAS software because of its user-friendly modular architecture. In addition to user-friendliness, it delights experienced users with excellent Microsoft 365, Azure Active Directory,  and AutoCAD integration, attractive backup options (SystemRescueCD, periodic, Amahi Time Machine, AFP, Samba, and more), and the following delightful features.

Key features of Amahi

• You can use this software for the management of files across devices within your network, including the right to access and edit files
• It boasts a built-in OpenVPN server with a single-click installation for IPsec VPN
• Amahi allows digital streaming to all your devices in the network

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4. OpenMediaVault

Next, we have OpenMediaVault on our list of the best free NAS software due to its forum-driven support to solve your problems. As far as features are concerned, it offers a lot of plugins (including USB backup, antivirus, and Microsoft OneDrive), ease of use, simple deployment, intuitive management, SNMP, M.A.R.T, email, and other monitoring options, and the following impressive features.

Key features of OpenMediaVault

• It allows job scheduling, system updates, and user management via web GUI
• OpenMediaVault supports FTP, SSH, NFS (v3/v4), RSync, and SMB/CIFS protocols
• You can exercise data management through quotas, access control list (ACL), GPT partitions, and RAID

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5. Enterprise Storage OS

Are you a high-volume administrator looking for the best NAS software? If yes, Enterprise Storage OS (ESOS) can be an ideal solution for you. ESOS boasts a text-based user interface and supports RAID controllers and targets (such as Fiber, SRP, iSCSI, FCoE, and SRP), and the following features justify its position on this list.

Key features of Enterprise Storage OS (ESOS)

• It supports encryption, inline data deduplication, and compression with simple tools
• ESOS boasts components for high availability, clustering, and redundancy
• Automatic data placement and migration add to the benefits of ESOS
• ESOS has an active user community and helpful forums

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6. TrueNAS

Here comes TrueNAS, truly one of the best free NAS software. The most fascinating feature of this software is its support for ZFS volume encryption besides single/double/multiple node solutions to scale up NAS/SAN object storage, VM and plugin support, and the following remarkable features.

Key features of TrueNAS

• It supports clones, snapshots, and Linux ZFS local or remote application
• TrueNAS boasts integration with reporting and analytics apps and REST API
• This software supports FTP, AFP, SMB, NFS, WebDAV, and Rsync protocols

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7. XigmaNAS

Earlier known as NAS4Free, XigmaNAS is the next name on this list of the best open-source NAS software. Perfect for large organizations, this FreeBSD-based software lets you create your own storage solution. Moreover, virtualized management, iSCIS targets support, and the following features are other reasons we wanted to introduce you to XigmaNAS.

Key features of XigmaNAS

• It supports disk encryption, ZFS partitioning, MBR, and GPT
• XigmaNAS is popular among users because of its community support, regular updates, and easy deployment
• You can use this software with USB, LiveUSB, SSD, and LiveCD

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Wrapping Up the Best NAS Software

We have reached the end of the best free open-source NAS software. These programs solve your storage problems and keep your data secure. We hope this article helped you find exactly what you were looking for. However, we are only a comment away if you have any doubts, questions, or suggestions about this post. Let us now bid adieu with a promise to return soon with another helpful write-up.